Who is Goddess Fish Promotions? And what do we do? We’re glad you asked!

We didn’t want your visit here to be dry and boring, so we decided to have a poetry competition and put what we do into verse. Here are the initial entries:

Marianne:

Roses are Red.

Violets are Blue.

I’m awful at poetry.

Coffee.

****

Judy:

We can edit your book

find things you didn’t see

It will be fun to look

at the changes from me.

Yeah, for some reason, Judy won!

Even better, her poem is correct. We DO offer editing as one of our options. Here are a couple of testimonials from clients:

I worked with Marianne on a complete edit and was very happy with the results. Her feedback was clear, easy to follow, and she probed on things I hadn’t thought of. She was also responsive whenever I had questions and helped me work through a few issues. Her feedback and guidance improved the quality of my manuscript, all at a very fair price. I’m working on my next book and plan to use their services again.

-J B Glazer, author, In Search of Mr. Anonymous

****

Choosing the right editor for a project is incredibly important to an author. Let’s face it, we want the best for our books. When I was considering editors for my first indie-published book, Regenerate, I naturally thought of Goddess Fish Promotions–and I’m so glad I did.

Marianne Arkins and Judy Thomas are incredibly attentive and professional during the entire editing process. Their input was invaluable and the story is much stronger because they cared enough to help unsnarl plot points and find order in the chaos..

I can’t wait to work with them again. Truly, a top-notch editorial team! – Sarita Leone, award-winning author of Regenerate

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We also offer Virtual Book Tours, Graphic Design, Social Media Promotion and more. You can see moretestimonials here.

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little (more information is below) and we’d like to do the same. We’d LOVE to see a little poem that tells us a bit about you in the comments. We’ll be awarding random book giveaways and $5 Amazon GCs to some of the best poetry we find. It might not be at every stop, but when something really makes us smile, we’ll reward it! Come on, be daring…

And now, more about us:

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

Judy: When I was a teen, back in the days of Sun In Hair Lightener and baby oil with iodine for tans, I used the Sun In one time too many and got a sunburn to boot. I had to go out the next day with a beet red face and orange hair.

Marianne: I honestly don’t embarrass easy. ::: think, think, think ::: … OH. Maybe this. When I was in high school, I was in a play and my character was a teacher. I was talking to a troubled female student who was having boy problems (her boyfriend was named Ray). My line was supposed to be, “I understand. I had a Ray once myself.” but it came out, “I understand. I had Ray once myself.” … cue insane teenaged laughter from the entire cast.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

Judy: I’ve lived in Morocco and Brazil, and have visited England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. I’m always up for another trip to Ireland (actually, if money were no object, I would love to take four months and spend a month in each country). I would also love to go to Greece one day!

Marianne: I’d love to visit the countries of my heritage: Portugal (especially the Azore Islands) and Scotland (and England and Ireland). Also, I think Greece and Italy have such amazing history. But honestly, I’ll probably end up spending my life here in the good old US of A. My husband was in the navy and has absolutely no desire to travel internationally.

I’m SO curious as to your day-to-day; walk me through a typical day, starting with when you wake up to check the 4 a.m. posts-have-to-be-up deadline 😉

Judy: The first thing is tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of ambition (points given if you know the reference and apologies for the earworm). Then – check email, check tours to make sure all the posts are up. If they aren’t, email the hosts and the authors. Schedule promo for the day. Check and process new tours/payments/etc. Once the earliest part of business is done, I have morning chores at home (cats, husband, etc). That is the routine part of the day. After that, depending on my husband’s schedule (he also owns his own business), my day is split between various work chores and trying to keep my house one step ahead of the health department. There is a lot of “behind the scenes” work that goes on and there are very few “typical” days. There are invoices to send, upcoming tours to prepare for, current tours to check on, emails to answer, fires to put out… any and all of these can come about during one day (heck, sometimes within one hour). My only other “routine” is I visit my mom every afternoon around 4. She had a stroke 2 and a half years ago, so I treasure the time I spend with her at the nursing home. I try to hit bed by 9 PM.

Marianne: I pop out of bed much more easily than Judy does (it’s true, I’m a morning person–don’t hate me). Take out the puppies and feed them breakfast, make myself a huge, 32 oz mug of coffee and head to the office. For the next couple of hours we check and set up all the promotion for tours that day. After that, I wake up my husband and my kid for work, and take the puppies for a nice long walk (weather permitting), usually about 2 miles or so. Then home for breakfast (usually everyone is gone to work by now). I eat and usually watch an episode of whatever show I’m binging on (currently “Numb3rs”). Then it’s time to get back to work. Usually. I do have a day or two when I see my mom for morning errands and lunch (she’s 85 y.o.) or if the kid isn’t working, we’ll do something for a couple of hours (bowling, a movie, the mall). I intersperse chores with Goddess Fish (toss in a load of laundry, fill a tour, lather, rinse repeat). Usually I try to squeeze another walk in for the puppies–they are still very young and full of energy. Lunch around 11, then back to work and chores. When the kid is home, we eat (usually around 4 pm) and visit a bit, then it’s back to work on the computer again. I’m usually there until my husband gets home, or it’s time for bed (between 8 and 9 … I usually read a bit before it’s lights out).

Is this your only job, or do you also have day jobs?

Judy: I was also a full time librarian (I use the term loosely because my master’s isn’t in library science) until four years ago…and I just couldn’t do two full-time jobs any more.

Marianne: I quit my job when I got pregnant, years ago, and I became as stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. But (did I mention I’m Type A?) I couldn’t not do something, so I started writing again (via WVU: Writer’s Village University) and also started my first website. A few years later, I was published and I sold that first website. Never to sit still long, Judy and started Long and Short Reviews, then a year later we opened the doors to Goddess Fish Promotions and life has never been the same!

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About Goddess Fish Promotions

Goddess Fish Promotions was established October 14, 2008. Why? Well, when Marianne became a published author and got her the first taste of trying to promote a book on a budget, there was only one other virtual book tour company in place at the time, and their fees were simply too high for a small press author. After coordinating and running her own tour, she knew other authors could use the same service for a reasonable price. Thus, Goddess Fish Promotions was born.

Because both Judy and Marianne were authors and editors prior to running Goddess Fish Promotions, they approach the business with a unique point of view, and treat their clients how they would expect to be treated.

The people behind the fish

Judy Thomas

Judy has a college degree in English and she’s worked in retail, education, at her local library as well as an editor for a small press and for the now defunct ShadowKeep Ezine. She’s also a published author so can see things from both sides of the fence. In 2013, she “retired” and now spends her days helping authors make their dream come true—as well as working as much as she can with her local theater group.

Marianne Arkins

Grammar freak and coffee lover, Marianne wrote her first novel at ten years old, built her first commercial website in 2000, and published for the first time in 2006. She worked as a professional editor for just over a year, and knows what it’s like to write, edit and promote a book on a budget.

I was born and raised in Northern Indiana. I’m an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, dog owner, animal, and book lover. I’m the owner, reviewer, and mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy. My favorite shifters are dragons!

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All books reviewed on this blog were either purchased by the reader, borrowed, or received from the author/publisher for an honest review. All reviews will state how the novel was received. I do not receive compensation of any kind for the reviews.

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